Permutatively operable keyboard and character selecting mechanism for writing machines



Jan. 19, 1954 A. BONI PERMUTATIVELY OPERABLE KEYBOARD AND CHARACTER SELECTING MECHANISM FOR WRITING MACHINES Filed March 9, 1950 4 Shngets-Sheet l T Tg TsT Tv Fe II l2 l3 l4 l5 T, l6 l7 l8 I9 20 5. 2| 22 23 24 25 Jig Jan. 19, 1954 A. BONI 2,666,516

PERMUTATIVELY OPERABLE KEYBOARD AND CHARACTER SELECTING MECHANISM FOR WRITING MACHINES 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed March 9, 1950 I/VI/EYDTOR. A'LEssHryo/w Bow/ 8y W W Lind l Arrows-ya Jan. 19, 1954 A. BONI PERMUTATIVELY OPERABLE KEYBOARD AND CHARACTER SELECTING MECHANISM FOR WRITING MACHINES Filed March 9, 1950 .nqo-uzzr- R n... R m.-

MAI MIN 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 III:

Jan. 19, l 954 2,666,516

A. BONI PERMUTATIVELY OPERABLE KEYBOARD AND CHARACTER SELECTING MECHANISM FOR WRITING MACHINES Filed March 9, 1950 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 Patented Jan. 19, 1954 UNITED STATES FATENT OFF! actor AND CHARACTER 4 Claims. 1

The present invention has as its object a rapid keyboard for writing machines which aims at avoiding, in general, the movement of the hand as. a whole and requires merely the movement of the fingers in order to "permit a high speed of: writing. This, besides leading to a reduction in eiiort, avoids the need of looking at the keyboard and, at the same time, requires the operators to use all their fingers with a high working efiiciency. V

The time. required and the difiiculty in learning the new keyboard are not such as not to be widely compensated by the advantages deriving from it.

According to the invention, selection is obtained, before each character is: impressed, by means. of suitable mechanisms through. the combined action of two or more fingersofor ex ample, in the case of a system'utilizing the action of two fingers, combining the action of each finger of the left hand with that of each finger. of the right hand, 5 )1 5:25 combinations possible are obtained, using only tenkeys; this number may be increasedv by introducing further keys, possibly to. be used only for characters. less frequently. employed, or by inserting kinematic movements inthe machine such that. d-iiiere'nt characters (lower case and upper case} may correspond to the action of the" same keys following some particular control.

Such systems will be called. hereinafter for brevity bi-control.

In. the systems which, can be calledpluricon-trol, an extension of those referredto above, the typing is preferably made contemporaneously with more than two fingers order to obtain the selection and impression of only onev character or, with special systems, of two or morecharacters contemporaneously, a thing that is permitted bythe multiple combinations possible. These systems will be referred. to hereinbelow.

In order that. by typing on twoor more keys: the. impression of just. one character should be obtained various procedures may be employed, either operating electrically, pneumatically; .or just mechanically.

In, the electric, or magnetic system; pressing twoor more keys leads to the closing; of a number'of contacts placed in series in a: circuit which; when completely closed, leads to; excitation: of an electromagnet which, in, turn operates the impression of the character under consideration.

Similarly, for the pneumatic system, a type of operation of. the invention corresponding; to the above may be employed; the magnetic circuit-is 2 replaced by a tubing which carries the fluid under' pressure and which exerts its pressure on a piston which causes the impression of the character only when a number of valves, arranged in series in the tube, are all opened by pressing the corresponding keys.

In the mechanical systems, the motion of the character carrying punch is not completed, and cannot therefore cause impression, except by the contemporaneous action of displacement of a number of keys which act on suitable mechanical transmission systems such as levers, wires wound on pulleys, or difieren-tial-type rotation systems; mixed electro-mechanical,

' and. similar systems may also be used.

It: should be noted that operation of thecontrols according to: the invention refers only tothe control board and its auxiliary equipment with the object of meeting the requirements of writing with the greatest speed.

As far as the selection of the characters is concerned, as a rule, such selection is effected by subdividing said characters into a first series of groups and then, on the basis of another selection, into another series so that by operating the. controls which bring about theselection of the group of the first series; and those which carry a serial group number of the second series, the required character is finally selected through the final combination of two index numbers, solection of the groups being contemporaneously possible by means. of the independent relative motions of the various parts of the two hands.

The number of groups must be lower, naturally,fth-an: the number of characters, otherthe improvement would be of no advantage over the systems now in use.

As far as the stenographic machines now'empl'oyed are concerned, in such machines only one sign corresponds to each key and the simultaneous operation of more than one key by the various. fingers results in the writing of a group oi'signsfiwith which a certain word is conventionally associated, by means of a suitable code.

No given character is therefore impressed by operation of more than one control, but a single sign corresponds to each control the diff rent meaning of the writing is obtained by the com binationoi signs; as in ordinary typewriters in. practice.

It has already been pointed out that the improvement brought about essentially concerns modification of the types of present keyboards and: elements immediately connected to them,

and does not require essentially modification of magnetic V other elements of the present typewriters as, for example, the elements forming the kinematic mechanism and the elements for impressing the characters, so much so, that the keyboard according to the present invention may also be given a form of embodiment of an accessory of present machines, although, for better efiiciency, it would be better to create suitable models of machines.

The object of the invention is obtained by being based on principles which allow the following characteristics to be reached: to reduce the wideness of motions by distributing the control to the contemporaneous action of more than one finger; to distribute the motion between the fingers so as to reduce the fatigue to a minimum; to avoid motions of the hands as a whole, which necessarily lead to slowness; to make operation spontaneous without requiring a watch on the keyboard and, finally, to permit application of elements such for instance as servomotors, capable of giving immediate execution of operation at the lightest touch on the corresponding key.

Some forms of embodiment of the invention are illustrated in the attached sheets of drawings, in which:

Fig. 1 illustrates, diagrammatically, the arrangement of present keyboard systems;

Fig. 2 represents the general plan of the system of co-operation of controls according to the invention;

Fig. 3 illustrates a typical plan of a bi-command system, with reference to nine combinations, relative to two classes, each class having three group keys;

Fig. 4 represents a general bi-command plan for twenty five combinations, relative to two groups of five keys;

Fig. 5 illustrates one form of bi-command embodiment, with a pneumatic system and valves in series, arranged in groups;

Fig. 6 illustrates one plan for bi-command embodiment, with a wire-type mechanical system;

Fig. '7 illustrates the generalarrangement of parts in a lei-command wire system;

Fig. 8 illustrates the plan for a bi-command operation with a mechanical lever-type system;

Figs. 9 and 10 give a view and a diagrammatic plan of the general arrangement of parts in a bi-command system effected with a mechanical balance-beam and. lever system;

Fig. 11 illustrates diagrammatically a particular type of operation with tie-rod and countertie-rod levers;

Fig. 12 illustrates a tri-command device in one of its forms of embodiment, with lever mechanisms;

Fig. 13 illu trates a particular of a device with catch operation, complete with character bearing punches;

Figs. 14 and 15 illustrate, diagrammatically, the utilization of the motions or partial controls in the electrical, pneumatic and mechanical systems;

Fig. 16 illustrates one type of arrangement of a control keyboard similar to that of a piano;

Fig. 17 illustrates, diagrammatically, a control handle bi-command system;

Fig. 18 illustrates diagrammatically the possible grouping of the characters in linear, circle, plain grid or cylindrical surface series in view of their selection;

Fig. 19 illustrates a reduced size, iii-command typewriter with characters on a spherical suliace and divider motion on rollers;

Fig. 20 illustrates the device for the conversion of a rotation movement of various amplitudes into the rectilinear movement of various rods, used as push-rods;

Fig. 21 illustrates a device for the conversion of the normal motions of keys into rotation movement of a drum and advancement of a number of rods;

Fig. 22 illustrates a device in which the keys effect impression of characters through the use of a servomotor. I

With reference to the drawings:

The type of machine now employed enters within the scope of the type diagrammatically indicated in Fig. 1, in which the impression of each character C1, C2, C3 Cn, corresponds to a single displacement of a key m1, m2, m3 mu; the movement of the key is downwards and is a consequence of the pressure and bending of the finger, accompanied by movements of the wrist and the hand.

The scheme, to which the keyboard envisaged in the present invention belongs is, in general, illustrated by Fig. 2 Where each single character C1, C2, C3 Cn, corresponds to the impression of that single character as a result of the summation of the controls eifected at S1, S2 Sn, while the controls relating to C1 are distinguished with an index 1 below it and, for instance, a number of indexes above it, that is for C1, with m1 m1 m1 and also for example C1, with mn The generic partial control could be indicated with my to signify the 1th command relative to the kth character.

If one stopped at this point one would only have a multiplication of the number of controls required to operate the characters, and therefore a complication: the advantage however becomes immediate when one places the ms in groups under the control of a limited number of group controls T1, T2 (Fig. 2).

This example is more clearly illustrated in Fig. 3 relative to 11:9 characters. In this case the impression of each character takes place through the generators of movement M1, M2 each of which is not excited except through the simultaneous operation of two controls, and therefore this system enters into the field of bi-command types; the partial commands for C6, for example, are those indicated by ms ma which are part of the push buttons of groups T5 and T4. It will be observed from the figure that the operation of push button Ts causes preselection of the three characters C3, C6, C9, starting a partial movement towards impression, but this movement is not completed until one of the even numbered buttons is pushed; therefore while operation of T4 would give impression of Ce, operation of T2 or T6 would give the impression respectively of C3 or C9. It is apparent from the figure that it does not matter whether the odd numbered buttons T1, T3, T5 or the even numbered buttons T2, T4, T6 are operated first.

With reference to the same Fig. 3 it will be seen that a possible generator of the required power to operate M1, M2, has been indicated at G, in case T1, T2 should only have the function of controlling some valves generically and should not have a direct motive function.

Another plan of 'Zl-COlLQL'rlQllti example is illus trated in Fig. for 25 characters in relation to the twenty-five possible combinations of the five even-numbered group controls with the five oddnumbered controls. For example, it is to be 5. understood; that operation of. push-buttons Ts T5. lead. to the. impression; of the character indicated by lit.

In. substance, in the ei-command and; pluricommand systems, impression of a character is obtained by the combined action t two. or more group buttons; Y

The devices with which the desired object can be attained, may be realized in various forms.

For example, Fig. indicates the embodiment by means 05 a pneumatic device of one part of the system illustrated in Fig; 3; the letterskeep their same general: significance. Thus the control lines Z1, Z2, la in Fig, 3'becomes the tubes in Fig. 5 such as, for example, Z3, Z6, of. a fluid under pressure arriving from. G (as, for example, a container of compressed air supplied: by a com prcssor). The me? and m in Fig. 5- indicate valves placed in series along tubing Z6, and their opening is controlled by button-s T4, T5 provided with return springs m, its; opening of the valves causes movement of the piston in cylinder Me, and impression of the character Cs is thus effected; at the end of its useful stroke thepiston uncovers a vent 'Usfor the compressed air, the piston returns toits position of rest under the action of spring 12. The-pistons inertia assists in correct impression. cause contemporary opening of other valves, thus. T5 operates mi and m9 in addition to the said ms This plan is purely indicative and can have many variations as can be deduced from pneumatic commend practice.

The same plan illustrated in Fig. 3 can also be operated electrically; the lines Z1, Z2, ls then become conductors and the operating controls ms? become switches; the M1, M2 assume the form of electrcmagnet whose moving armatures are tied to the impression of the character; G: becomes a source of electrical power and it is easy; based on Fig. 3, to trace the electrical. diagram just as was done in 5- for the pneumatic de-- vice.

t is understood that the number of valves operated by each group button can be any de-- sired, just as the valves arranged in series can be morethan two if it should be desired to create a form of pluri-command instead of a bi-commandsystem.

The said electrical. andpneumatic systems are not the only ones possible in order to realize the invention, but there can also be embodiments which utilize solely mechanical-type devices.

Fig. 6 illustrates a. system for adding together, by wire means, the strokes of two. keys T1 and- T2. In this figure, 11 and r2. simply indicate return springs in their position of rest; g1, 94 are red pulleys while pulley 95 is movable, beingcarried by rod aof punch P.

When lzey T1 is pressed, only half. of the stroke of punch P required for impression of the character is obtained by means of.- wire I; if T2 is pressed simultaneously however, the two. movements add together resulting in acomplete stroke of P. It is understood of, course that? can either effect impression of the character directly or through intermediate kinematic organs. It can, for example, press on. the keys of the keyboard of an ordinary typewriter and in such a. case. the

device would be in the form of an accessory with the object of merely modifying the operation of existing machines.

Such an, embodiment might. be held to be ad. vantageous. in order to. utilize. equipment, which is already in use although it would. be better,

Naturally the push rods naturadlyin general, toutilize special typewriters embodying-the invention. Fig; 7 gives: some details as to the arrangement of the various; parts on the basis of the principleindicated in. Fig. 6; An. example is given in said.

Fig. 7 of the use of. six keys, the total. numberof combinations: being 3 3=9 as was already painted out inregard to 3. Each key is equipped with three pulleys-trey T5, for example, having those indicated as or, g6, key To those indicated as: g1, g2, oz. The letters R1, R2

indicate fixed-axis pulleys. A punch P corresponds to each character. In the figure, only one has beenv indicat d instead of the nine possible, for clearness; to each punch P, held in its position of rest by return spring 7', a wire f is anchored by means of appendage a. Said wire runs on four fixed pulleys and two movable pulleys each, of thelatter being fastened to a group buttonT; each wire i is anchored at its other end to a. fixedpoint t, It, for example, the button or key T6 is pressed, the; pulleys g1, g2, are lifted and three of. the corresponding punches such as P make a partial. movement towards 'ession; only by pressing an. odd numbered however, such asTs for example, which causes three other pulleys 91,9 5, gs to be lifted, do we have the combination of movements of ya and g1 and, by means of wire I, punch P makes a complete stroke causimpression. length of movement of each pulley is doubled in relation to the movement of the wire and therefore relation to P.) The usual observations regarding possible variations, the employment of a. different. number of pulleys and the duties assigned toP and so on, are repeated again here.

Fig. 8- illustrates another device of the bi-command type in which the combined movements of levers. are utilized. The lever K which joins the fulcrums aand b connected to keys T1 and T2, assumes the position indicated by the dotted line between points d. and b. when only one key, for instance T1 is pressed; the punch l? in this case moving only about half of its full stroke; when key T2 is also. pressed, the lever K takes up the position which is also indicated by a dotted line, between points 01 and 1, so that punch P completes its. stroke required for impression.

It is understood of course that T1, T2 and other group keys move. as many levers such as I; as there. are characters in the group, and there is a total, number of levers re K punches liLe P as there are characters.

Fig. 9 illustrates an embodiment of a lever type bi-command system. Referring to the keys numbered 1 to 6. each, key has its relative pressure rod, 11, which. operates. on a corresponding cross lever L, which goes downward or upward always. parallel to itself since it is mounted on an, articulated parallelogram whose cranks are indicated in. the; figure as T1. and A couple of levers such as. L, as. for instance L1 and L2, act through the pressure. rods in. and 212 on the extremities of the rocking lever bn and thus the strokes of levers, L1 and L2 are added together on the. pivot, An and transmitted to. the lever an, which. is pivoted at Fn, said lever effecting impression of the character Cu. There are, of

course, as many levers such as an and b1; as there distributing; transversely the movements received.

from keys T at the: desired points, as for exams (It should be noted that the 7. ple at the points indicated by the little circles shown in the figure, is clearly indicated.

Instead of the parallelogram levers of Fig. 9 used for transmitting the movement of keys T of a group to the rocking levers bn, tie rods t and counter tie rods Z as shown in Fig. 11 can be used. The pressing of a group key T is then transformed through the bell crank lever 1 into a longitudinal movement of the tie rod 15. The idea of connecting bell crank levers g1, (12 acting, as in Figure 9 on the ends of a rocking lever bu, to the tie rod t, would result in levers q, if inserted some to the right and. some to the left of f, giving rise at t to pressure as well as traction stresses. i his drawback can be eliminated by the use of counter tie rod Z, which is always subjected to the tension of spring at and to which longitudinal movement is transmitted from tie rod t with the introduction of end lever 9 Both the procedures of addition. by the wire system and by the lever system can be extended from lei-command to plan-command; for exam ple, Fig. 12 illustrates a lever system for tricomniand; keys T1 and T2 operate the lever K1 and t erefore the end a of a second lever K2, which, at other receives the movement of another key T3; thus the movement of the three keys up their effect towards the total stroke, efifects which can, for example, be graduated by proportioning the arms Z1 and 12 of the second lever K2.

Fig. 13 indicates a possible constructional detail for the catch operation of a punch P so as to prevent uncertainties or prolonged lowering of key T ifrom creating interferences or the multiple impression of characters, especially in the electrical or pneumatic systems used without intermediate kinematic organs.

This particular device also has an advantage towards the total impression speed of the systern.

In said 13, the stem of punch P which can move in its guide a, by overcoming the action of spring 1', is forced down when key If is lowered through the interaction of catches h and K which have inclined planes, the second catch K being to stem c while catch it is fixed to a fiat spring in which, when 'I is lowered, penetrates into window 1 and is forced back, thus causing disengagement of the two catches h and K; when impression has been eilected, the spring '1' returns punch P to its starting position and this is possible due to the fact that in the return movement the catches present their inclined surfaces to one another.

The complete stroke and catch devices may have v riations dictated by present technical knowledge.

It should also be noted, with reference to the general plans illustrated in Figs. 14 and 15 that while the elec "ical and pneumatic devices open the way, through the combination of controls of two or more group keys, to the operation of the character required each time, leaving all the others unoperated in the plan of Fig. i l, the operation of a group key shown diagrammatically in l5 impresses a partial movement, as, for example, half a stroke, to the members connected with several characters, while the total stroke 1 is only attained for a determined character by pressing another group key. The difference in behaviour does not affect the result and is not, therefore, essential; in the mechanical system too, things can be arranged, introducing dead spaces for example, so that the partial stroke of a key does not by itself generate any movement towards impression, but such movement begins only when t e stroke is con pleted by the second partial stroke related to another key.

Mixed forms of relation are possible between the groups of characters'on the one hand and the groups and combinations of keys on the other.

The keys related to the group push rods may be given any form desired as, for example, that of the present keyboards of writing machines; but a form similar to that of the keys of a piano is particularly useful.

A keyboard of this type is illustrated in Fig. 16, in which there are five white keys (larger) and four black keys (smaller) for the lei hand and the same for the right hand; it is better that the keys related to the thumbs be longer so that thumbs may rest more easily on their keys and not require bending the hand; this is possible because the hand must not move over the whole keyboard but the same finger always corresponds to one key.

A group push rod corresponds to each key. With the white keys alone, one obtains 5 5=25 combinations which include all letters of the alphabet. By combining the four black keys related to the right hand with the white keys of the left hand, one obtains an additional twenty combinations and a similar number is obtained by combining the black keys of the left hand with the white keys of the right hand; such combinations may be utilized for numbers, punctuation marks and commercial signs.

The combinations indicated sum up to a total of 65; if keys such as those indicated in Fig. 16 by MAI and MIN are also included for the change between capitals and small letters, the number of combinations can be doubledthat increased to 130, a number which quite adequate for all necessities.

As an example of the use oi the keyboard, b? pressing down the third finger the let o, the characters R, S, T, V, Z, A are prepared for printing; this printing however is not completed until one or" the keys connected with the fight hand has been pressed. either atterwards or contemporaneously; for example by pressing the first finger of the l obtains S, while pressing the second finger gives T and so on.

As can be seen from the ole, it .1, always necessary to press down i eno gh to keep one finger pressed down press with one finger of the other hand, right or left.

This naturally reduces the fatigue in thus increasing the possibility of speed.

In addit on, while two keys are hi i. down completely, the pressing of anoth r couple of keys with other fingers can be started.

With exercise it is no longer at the keyboard in choosing the keys instinctive movement of the fingers is oh.

to the reduction amplitude of the move; of the hand.

The keyboard illustrated in Fig. 16 o indicative both as regar s the in: her or": keys and as regards the t the ters which can be established on the basis of the frequency of the letters in the language used while keeping. in mind, as far as the combinations are concerned, the strength and agility of the various fingers.

The length of the downward stroke of each key must also be determinedon the basis of comparative experiments with regard to the final efiiciency.

In present typewriters this stroke is roughly 15-18 millimeters, whereas in piano keyboards which are of a similar type, the stroke is in general 10-12 millimeters; for this particular type of keyboard even strokes of an extremelyreduced length could be employed, such, for instance, as 2-3 millimeters.

'It should also be kept in mind, however, that for equal mechanical work the force employed is inversely proportional to the stroke and therefore, in the case of short strokes, since great forces are required, it would be necessary to employ electric servomotors or other systems to operate the machine.

However, if it is considered that mechanical power and pulses must be taken into consideration in addition to the work involved, it might even prove useful to have relatively short strokes for machines of a particularly light type, without servomotors.

The keyboard described above meets normal requirements of practice; some different forms of biand pluri-command adapted for special uses will be however indicated hereafter as a complement.

In particular, if it is planned to use not merely a single finger of each hand but also two or more fingers of the same hand, various types of machines can be obtained.

For example, by using a, keyboard with ten keys and presuming that the system be realized so as to press two keys on the left hand side with the left hand and the same number with the right hand, 10 9+2zd5 combinations can be obtained; by using three fingers, there are l 9 8+6 l20 possible combinations; and these numbers can be doubled with the capitalsmall letters change systems.

Such systems can find particular employment in machines of the linotype variety or that employing many special characters, as, for example, mathematics or oriental languages.

In this case too, the keyboard of Fig. 16 could be sufilcient, perhaps if equipped with additional systems for the change of character series.

Further possibilities are offered through the use of devices which take into account the order of partial strokes, in other words operated not according to combinations but according to the arrangement of the controls.

Keyboards could also be created for use by one hand only (as, for example, in the particular field of mutilated persons); with only five keys and by pressing with two fingers, 10 combinations can be obtained and if one-finger strokes are also employed, an additional 5 can be obtained, whereas ifthree-finger strokes are admitted, an additional can be obtained, giving a total of 25 combinations; a fourth finger can be utilized to select the impression of the character corresponding to the desired combination with one, two or three fingers.

By doubling the system described, that is, by employing two keyboards set side by side, of the pluri-command type each capable of giving the impression of one character when pressing with the fingers of the appropriate hand, either left or right, one can have the possibility of the obtaining simultaneous impression of two characters; this system is adapted for very high speeds of writing but requires highly specialized personnel that has had much practice. In addition, the system requires modification of the carriage operating mechanism and a duplication of the characters and, perhaps, of the related transmission'systems in case two of the same or different characters should have to be impressed side by side.

Up to now, forms of keyboards of the biand pluri-command types operable by fingers have been described because this is the usual manner of obtaining the greatest speed, but it is not to be excluded that for special cases the system could be arranged in reference to the movement of the hands as a whole or even to the movement of one hand as a whole and the movement of the fingers of the other hand.

Thus, for example, Fig. 17 illustrates a bi-command system related to the movement of the two hands as a whole; both the right and left hands can each grip a handle, each of which is capable of five movements as follows: forwards, backwards, to the left, to the right and downwards, so that With the simultaneous operation by the two hands one obtains 25 combinations correspending to as many characters. The controls can also be arranged so as to obtain 36 combinations. The devices employed in such handlecontrols may be similar to those described in reference to the use of the movement of the fingers alone.

The mixed system in which the motion of one hand as a whole is employed in combination with the movement of the fingers of the other hand is susceptible of various forms of realization.

In general, the movement of one hand as a whole may be usefully employed for the selection of a group of characters, whereas the movement of the fingers can make the final selection or the character required in the previously selected group. While the devices previously described may be again employed where operation of the keyboard by the fingers is concerned, the operations by the hand as a Whole could be obtained with various devices as, for example, in cases depending on whether the movement as a whole is to cause selection of a group of characters arranged as shown in the various examples in Fig. 18, in a linear series, or whether the controls correspond to the vertic'es of a flat grid with several lines, or the points of division of a circle or a spiral or circles which are sections of cylindrical surfaces where the combination of rotation and axial movement is desired; other surfaces on which the characters are arranged may also be imagined.

Fig. 19 illustrates, as an example, the use of a spherical surface for application to a machine of reduced size.

The characters may be supposed to be arranged on a spherical surface S, at the points where five meridians meet five parallels (in the case where it is desired to have 25 combinations). The surface S can rotate around two orthogonal axes passing through the center of the sphere and indicated schematically in the figure by a and b, with devices of well-known types to cause the selected character to be brought down to the lowermost point of the sphere, in other words closest to the sheet on which impression is to be made; said impression takes place when a small hammer or plunger hits a spherical cavity at the centerc of the character carrying device.

The amplitude of the two rotations of the sphere around the said axes is controlled by a toothed gear 2.1 which engages a sector '1", rotation of the latter around a fulcrum being regulated by lever submitted to the thrust of the keys, and since the arms of application of said th us are of different length, the amplitude of rotation of the sphere is different for the same stroke of one or another key. This system can also be a bicomniandone with ten keysfive to the left and five to the right, as indicated in Fig. 19 by 1v -Si and lib-De and said keys can be much shorter than those of a piano, thus particularly reducing the dimensions of the machine a whole.

l'inurled rollers take care of the correct movement along the lines on the paper; movement takes place one interval at a time and, to pass from line to another, two rollers could be employed, for example, at each side; thus, for example, the two rollers indicated by c and f, the one merited e could be non-movable along its while the one marked 1 could be capable of movement against a spring so that, by first resting 7- and then s on the surface, the device could be made to move in such a manner to write on parallel lines.

Half the stroke of the keys could be used to regulate the amplitude of rotation of the sphere, in other words the selection, while the other half of the stroke could be used by e ch key to load the hammers and to effect percussion.

The essential characteristic of the device according to the invention is naturally the employment of the plum-command principle and the various embodiments, and in particular the arrangement and form of the keys, etc, may be realized in any different manner as suggested by present technical knowledge.

L'tshould be noted finally that the passage from a system which presupposes the movement as a whole of the two hands to another system in which use is made of the movement of the fingers, apart from the advantage offered relatively to the latter in relation to the speed of writing, consists merely in the interposition of an organ of conversion between the control mechanisms as, for example, is illustrated in Figs. and 21.

In 20 the movement of the hand as a whole, impressing a rotation having five different angular values on the handle m, is transformed through cam e suitably fixed to the handle and suitably shaped, into a translation movement of the live push rods indicated by the numbers 1., 2, S, 5, which can move in the block 0, said rods being returned to their position of rest by springs r; the movement of said rods may be utilized for the impression of the characters as in the case of the movement of the keys in a typewriter. In substance, in this case it is sufficient to insert a system for transforming a rotary step step movement into a rectilinear movement of some rods.

Fig. 21 illustrates instead how a rocking move iinprc. :(1 on one of the even numbered keys T2, T4, Ts, and T10 related to the fingers of the right hand, can be transformed through a system of levers Z2, El, E6, is, and he into a movement of rotation of cylindrical body which can take up live possible angular positions, one in the middle and two on each side, to each of which positions a line of five characters. for example, corresponds. The final selection of one of these characters for impression is controlled contemporaneously or successively by the 12 odd-numbered key system T1, T3, T5, T7, T9, related to the left hand; each of keys, 5 instance, is equipped with a shaped extehsio which, whenthe key is pressed down, causes vancement of the corresponding rod among 025, each having an At t the until live pressure rods an, axial movement of a different amount. rod forces drum Q to advance along it reaches the point marked. by arrow 1 v" re inpression of the selected character can be Elected.

Said movement of translation of besides being opposed by spring 7 by which is returned to its position of rest, does not interfere preceding rotation movement of since levers can move freely along shaft b of the drum although they always transmit the movement of rotation by means of a series of rectilinear grooves cut into shaft 22.

It is to be understood that movement, instead of being impressed on the drum, may 08 im pressed by one of the rods a on the sole 1 characters desired; in this case, instead five push rods, it may be more convenient to use merely one with the duty of pushing the line of characters when said line has been brought oppo site the rod a by the rotation of the drum.

This system, like the one previously illustrated and other similar systems, enters within the sphere of bi-cornznand keyboards does not require the present type of transmission mechanism of typewriters.

Naturally, when designing and construct ng said device-s, these transmissions must arranged so as to be capable of supplying an in. mediate reply to the controls assigned to them.

Finally som indications are given regarding generators, schematically marked G in the p of Fig. 3. It has already been stated that said generators may be composed of a source of electric power, or a tank of fluid under pressure.

The employment of servornotors in w; ng machines goes, naturally, beyond the scope t. is invention and it is therefore merely as an example that a method of employment of electric motor is here indicated. In Fig. 22, M i cates a motor in constant operation which turns the shaft 2), which is also in constant rotation and on which the drums t are fastened, drums having different forms if necessary, such for example as cams, toothed wheels, etc. The pushbutton p acts against hammer n which is related to character Cn when the anchoring stop a carried by key T is lifted by pressure on the key. Tooth c is thus freed and the pushbutton p effects its stroke under the action of spring r1. As soon as key T is left free, the anchoring stop 0; moves downward and presses pushbutton 12 against drum in which, turning, acts by friction on p and returns it to its previous position which it is held by tooth e; the action of drum in is effected on the protruding d of the pushbutton and the friction effect terminates only when the whole return movers r to part d has taken place. Such server. also be employed for the return of the which is thus, with the of always increasing the speed, subtracted from the influence of the hand and placed under the control of a izey.

I claim:

1. A rapid keyboard particularly for writing machines, comprising in combination a f series of keys adapted to be operated by the ri, hand, a second series of keys, symmetric to t. first one, adapted to be operated by the left han. aplurality of characters to be printed and inmei directly controlled by said keys, a plurality of rocking levers, one for each of said characters, each said rocking lever being pivoted at its middle point and connected at one end to one of the right hand keys and at the other end to one of the left hand keys, said rocking lever being arranged tocause the complete displacement of its pivoting point necessary to have the character printed only by the combined action exerted upon its ends by the right hand key and the left hand key to which the said ends are connected, and a plurality-of rods causing the printing of the characters, each of said rods being connected at one end to one of said rocking levers at the pivoting point thereof and being movable to cause the printing of the related character only when the pivoting point of the rocking lever makes its complete displacement owing to the combined action exerted upon its ends by the right hand key and the left hand key to which said ends are respectively connected.

2. A rapid keyboard particularly for writing machines, comprising in combination a first series of keys operable by the right hand, a second series of keys symmetric to the first one operable by the left hand, a plurality of characters to be printed and indirectly controlled by said keys, a plurality of rocking levers, one for each of said characters, each said rocking lever being pivoted at a point between the two ends thereof, a plurality of cross levers each articulatedly supported at the two ends by two cranks of equal length to lift and lower parallel to itself, and connected at one side to one of the right hand or left hand keys and at the other side to one of the ends of a group of rocking levers of said plurality of rocking levers, and an amplifying rocking lever connected to each of said first mentioned rocking levers at the pivoting point of the latter, said amplifying rocking lever being adapted to directly cause the printing of the character when the pivoting point of the rocking lever first mentioned makesits complete displacement owing to the combined action exerted upon its ends by the right hand key and the left hand key to which the said ends are respectively connected.

3. A rapid keyboard, particularly for writing machines, comprising in combination a first series of keys operable by the right hand, a second series of keys symmetric with the first one, to be operable by the left hand, a plurality of characters to be printed and indirectly controlled by said keys, a plurality of rocking levers, one for each of said characters, each said rocking lever being pivoted at a point between the two ends thereof, a plurality of horizontal tie rods connected to said keys and moved therefrom, a bell crank lever connecting a key to a tie rod for transforming M vertical movement of the key into horizontal movement of the tie rod, an end lever pivoted at its center and connected at one side to the tie rod, a counter tie rod parallel to said rod connected at the other side of said end lever, and a plurality of bell crank levers connected by one arm to said counter tie rod and by the other arm to one end of sa d rockin lever, each of said second mentioned bell crank levers connected to said counter tie rod being adapted to transform horizontal movement of the counter tie rod into vertical movement of one end of the rocking lever to which it is connected.

4. A rapid keyboard particularly for writing machines comprising in combination a first series of piano-like keys operable by the right hand, a second series of keys, symmetric to the first one, operable by the left hand, each of said series having five keys located in a plane, and shorter keys disposed intermediate said five keys and projecting upward therefrom, additional keys between the series of the right hand and of the eft hand, a plurality of characters to be printed and indirectly controlled by said keys, a plurality of rocking levers, one for each of said characters, each said rocking lever being pivoted at a point between the two ends thereof and being connected at one end to one of said right hand keys and at the other end to one of said left hand keys, said rocking lever being arranged to cause complete displacement of its pivoting point necessary to have the character printed only by the combined action exerted upon its two ends by the right hand key and the left hand key to which the said ends are connected, a plurality of kinematic devices to directly cause the printing of the characters, each of said kinematic devices being connected at one end to one of said rocking levers at the pivoting point thereof and being movable to cause printing of the relative character only when said pivoting point makes its complete displacement, each of said right hand keys and each of said left hand keys being connected with a group of characters in such a way that each character may be controlled through a rocking lever owing to the combined action upon the ends of said lever exerted both by a right hand key and a left hand key.

ALESSANDRO BONI.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 880,391 McPhee Feb. 25, 1908 1,578,300 Vondra Mar. 30, 1926 1,986,167 Linhares Apr. 25, 1933 2,031,017 Tevis Feb. 18, 1936 

